A LITTLE Sutton man miraculously escaped death when he was hit by a train at the weekend.

Now his father is urging witnesses to the horrific incident at Little Sutton station to contact British Transport Police.

Jan Peter Wharton, 38, of Penistone Drive, was struck by the Ellesmere Port to Rock Ferry train at 0.45am on Sunday.

He is being treated for serious arm and leg injuries at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The train driver radioed ahead to his control room to report he may have struck a male who he had seen sitting on the edge of the platform.

This brought ambulance paramedics and officers from British Transport Police racing to the scene where they found Mr Wharton near to the Walkers Lane station entrance.

The injured man's 75-year-old father, John Warton, said: 'I can't explain what happened. I was woken by my daughter at 5am who told me Jan Peter had been hit by a train. He is in the Countess but they can't tell me very much more at this stage.

'He has very serious arm and leg injuries. I just want anyone who saw what happened to come forward and contact the police officers investigating the incident.'

A spokesman for British Transport Police said: 'We are in the process of conducting a full investigation, although we are not treating the incident as suspicious. We are now appealing for any witnesses to the incident to come forward.

'There were some people at the scene who we will be seeing again for statements, but we would still like to hear from anyone who saw Mr Wharton in the station at the time of, or prior to the accident.'

A spokesman for the Countess of Chester Hospital described Mr Wharton's condition as 'stable and comfortable' this morning.

Witnesses to the incident should call British Transport Police on 0800 405040.